Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes and the World Day of Prayer for the Sick. Especially in this time of a worldwide pandemic, we pray for healing and we also we give thanks and recognition to those in health care ministry. It is a fitting moment for us to reflect on the Church’s teaching on health care and pray in a fervent way for those who are sick.
In his letter to mark this day of prayer, Pope Francis has called for us to remember those who continue to suffer the effects of the pandemic. In his message, he expressed his spiritual closeness and reassured all the poor and marginalized of the Church’s loving concern for them.
In his letter, Pope Francis said: “Dear brothers and sisters, the commandment of love that Jesus left to his disciples is also kept in our relationship with the sick. A society is all the more human to the degree that it cares effectively for its most frail and suffering members, in a spirit of fraternal love. Let us strive to achieve this goal, so that no one will feel alone, excluded or abandoned. To Mary, Mother of Mercy and Health of the Infirm, I entrust the sick, healthcare workers, and all those who generously assist our suffering brothers and sisters. From the Grotto of Lourdes and her many other shrines throughout the world, may she sustain our faith and hope, and help us care for one another with fraternal love. To each and all, I cordially impart my blessing.”
Let us pray. O God, healer of body, mind, and soul, help us never to forget that your Spirit guides us, your heart consoles us, and your hands bring us consolation and hope. May the thread of your love be interwoven with the love of our friends and families, and the support provided by all those who care for those in need. Guide us all to be signs of your loving presence and instruments of your healing. Look with compassion on all who are suffering in any way today: give them courage. We pray this in the name of Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with you now and always. Amen.
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As we celebrate Our Lady of Lourdes, we recall a series of 18 appearances that the Blessed Virgin Mary made to a 14-year-old French peasant girl, Saint Bernadette Soubirous. The Marian apparitions happened in 1858 and received the local bishop’s approval after a four-year inquiry. Bernadette left Lourdes in 1866 to join a Religious Order in central France, where she died in 1879.
For more on Our Lady of Lourdes: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/our-lady-of-lourdes and https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/our-lady-of-lourdes-144
